Posted on 07/16/2015 8:28:52 AM PDT by Red Badger
While we're taught that food that smells rotten should be thrown away, there are actually many foods that you eat whenever they've just started rotting.
Of course, it's not pleasant to call these foods rotten, so we refer to them in different ways instead.
Cheese
Making cheese comes down to your ability to control rot. This is because milk is treated with bacteria and enzymes causing it to curdle. The curdles are then cut, formed and ripened into cheese.
Stinkheads
Another native Alaskan delicacy is what's known as stinkheads. These are King Salmon heads that have either been buried in fermentation pits in the ground or placed inside of a barrel or plastic bag where they're left for weeks. Once removed, they're mashed and eaten.
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut is a type of fermented cabbage. It’s made by mixing shredded cabbage with salt then letting it sit for a bit. Many people say that this is good for your digestion.
Aged Beef
In order for beef to be dry-aged it must sit in a temperature and humidity controlled room for 3 weeks. This allows it to develop a moldy crust that’s cut away so that you have a tender steak that’s full of flavor.
Of course, it’s also full of minerals as well.
Kimchi
Korean cuisine is known for its kimchi. This is made by covering cabbage with a mixture that's both salty and spicy. It's then allowed to sit in an air tight jar for a couple of days.
Miso
This is a staple in Japanese cuisine, being found in sauces, spreads and marinades. In the US, it's commonly found in soup. It's made by fermenting soybeans then adding barley, wheat and rice.
Hákarl
While hákarl is a delicacy in Iceland, it’s a very divisive food elsewhere. This is because it’s rotten shark that’s made by putting a gutted shark into a hole in the sand for 6-12 weeks.
It’s then dug up and left hanging for several months before being eaten.
Tempeh
In Indonesia, tempeh is a staple. It's made by soaking whole soybeans in vinegar and allowing them to ferment. All of this is then bound together with mycelium, which is a sticky fungus.
Fesikh
This is a very popular dish throughout the Sham-el-Nessim festival in Egypt. It is made by sun-drying mullet then preserving it in salt. Fesikh poisonings are common because the recipes are passed down through generations, making it difficult to get right.
Igunaq
The Inuits in Alaska preserve their meat by cutting it into big steaks then burying it in the ground for months where it ferments in the autumn then freezes in the fall. They then eat this prized delicacy. However, since these recipes are also passed down through the generations, botulism is also quite common here as well.
Pickles
Pickles are cucumbers that have been soaked in vinegar or a brine solution and left to ferment for a very long time. So next time you pick up a pickle, just think, you're about to eat a rotten cucumber.
Coconut yogurt
Coconut yogurt is a healthy source of non-dairy bacteria. You can make you own by heating coconut milk, adding probiotics, and allowing it to sit on your counter until sour.
Looks like the cat is going to get away!
The Century Egg would be at #1 on my list.
......and lived to tell about it.....................
I dont eat rotting food.
Pickles are not rotting cucumbers. Pickling in vinegar prevents rotting.
I dont eat rotting beef. The actual rot is trimmed from aged beef before serving.
Only the skin of cheese rots, and that is trimmed off.
I’m thinking that fried Boudain balls might be a fun thing to have.
Boudain and Haggis are close cousins.
In my younger days I went to Europe and was served a cheese with my meal. Being a typical American, I had not come across a cheese with a 'skin' that had to be removed. I simply ate the cheese and its skin. It tasted horrible. Not wanting to embarrass myself or call attention to myself in a restaurant, I just chewed it all up and swallowed it. It wasn't until a few days later that I found out that you were supposed to remove the skin before eating the cheese............
Ah, I’ve eaten everything.
Cow Tongue, Scrambled Cow blood, Tripe, crickets....
All good stuff...
They left out pepperoni and summer sausage which are “fermented” sausages.
As is Andouille made in France, not American Louisiana type.................
I’m gonna have to try it sometime. Probably won’t find it in Publix, though...................
To these, you can add rotten drinks, such as beer, wine and buttermilk.
Full disclosure: I love beer. Wine and buttermilk can go pound sand.
Nuoc Mam is actually pretty good; has a relatively light flavor.
And don’t forget Worcestershire sauce - made from well rotted anchovies!
Yep, called lactofermented. I just made a big batch of them. :) You can also use whey in the salt brine to ferment them.
I’ve eaten a lot things in my life, but I think Ima pass on a fish head that has been rotting in a dirt hole.
I always thought “Boudin” was Cajun for “if I told you, you wouldn’t eat it.”
Politics is like sausage. If you like either one, it’s best that you don’t watch it being made.......
Had Nuoc Mam over their broiled shrimp-on-a-stick - it was good.
The countryside of India is still littered with Lea & Perrins bottles left over from the British Raj. His Majesty’s soldiers needed the w’shire when their bully beef & mutton started to go a bit whiffy.
One of the oldest “rotted” foods is completely left off this list: sourdough bread.
I don’t see balut on that list.
Must not be that bad...................
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